King of Cups

When Napoleon Bonaparte arrived in France in his early childhood, the French Revolution was in full swing. Peasants had wrestled control away from the nobility, and everyone was addressed as ‘citizen.’ The former hierarchy was no longer recognized. In fact, if former nobility referred to themselves by their noble titles such as Baron or Judge instead of merely ‘citizens’, they were sent to the guillotine. Anyone who thought themselves better than the ruling class were executed. The problem with that was that this began a sort of witch-hunt, people were being round-up and executed based on rumours and corridor-whispers, often as the result of envy or malice. This led to the execution of many innocent civilians during this period. Even Maximilien Robespierre, one of the founders of the revolution, had his head chopped off for not towing the line! In short, anarchy ruled.

Someone needed to step-up and take control of this downwardly spiralling situation. That person was Napoleon. He brought back law and order and was very charismatic, gaining a huge following in the military as well as in the civilian population.

The French Revolution was a very emotional issue for many, and Napoleon brought this back into normality, creating stability where before people were reacting from an emotional basis in their ruthless executions of so many who were perceived to consider themselves ‘better than’ the masses.

It was under Napoleon’s influence that France became a dominant world power in Europe.

The Kings in tarot are generally indicative of having achieved a certain control of the element in question. King of Cups is a solid individual who has gained control of his emotions through experience and wisdom. Today’s card therefore focuses on the realm of emotions, and prods us to examine whether we have become the ruler of our emotions yet, or whether they still rule us.

In support of this in today’s Tarotelic segment I’d like to read an important poem by Rudyard Kipling, called “If.”

IF you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,

Or being hated, don't give way to hating,

And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;


If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;


If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster


And treat those two impostors just the same;


If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken


Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,


Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,


And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings 


And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,


And lose, and start again at your beginnings


And never breathe a word about your loss;


If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew


To serve your turn long after they are gone,


And so hold on when there is nothing in you


Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,


' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,


if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,


If all men count with you, but none too much;


If you can fill the unforgiving minute


With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,


Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,


And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

Six of Cups

There is a playful element to this card, but there is also a slightly sinister aspect too; an issue from the past that we thought we had dealt with can present itself when this card appears.

Every now and then something from the past revisits us, sometimes turning our world upside down and sometimes forcing us to re-examine things in a whole new way.

This is the astounding tale of a fish known as coelacanth (seel-uh-kanth) that was thought to have gone extinct with the dinosaurs, 65 million years ago. Unexpectedly one such fish made its appearance in fishing nets off the coast of South Africa in 1938, and it was very much alive! Fondly referred to as ‘Old Four Legs’ and the ‘Living Fossil’ the coelacanth quickly became the continuing obsession of journalists, biologists, scientist, explorers, aquariums and divers.

The coelacanth fascinated the world and ignited a debate about how the bizarre lobe-finned fish fits into the evolution of land animals.

According to National Geographics, Many scientists believe that the unique characteristics of the coelacanth represent an early step in the evolution of fish to terrestrial four-legged animals like amphibians.

The most striking feature of this "living fossil" is its paired lobe fins that extend away from its body like legs and move in an alternating pattern, like a trotting horse.

Despite initial reactions that this was a hoax or a once-off wonder, a community of these coelacanths was discovered near the Comoros Islands near South Africa and another in the waters off Sulawesi, Indonesia. Studies in the Comoros suggest that only about a thousand remain there, and are today considered an endangered species.

Here’s the thing that we have to ask ourselves though, did evolution stand still? This fish should have evolved onto land many millions of years ago. Why didn’t the coelacanth evolve? But more importantly, based on these findings we have to ask ourselves whether there are other prehistoric dinosaurs or ‘monsters’  like the Loch Ness for example around today? For all we know there are living, fire-breathing dragons lurking deep beneath, just waiting to be discovered. Yes, there is the playful element of the card rearing it’s head again, but in light of these findings it is not all that inconceivable any more, is it?

Sometimes things come back from our past. Things that we have forgotten about or that we thought we had dealt with, often these turn our world upside down, or forces us to look at things in a whole different way.

This card reminds us to allow playfulness into our lives, but it also prompts us to ponder whether those issues we thought were dealt with for once and for all have really been laid to rest. There are times, as Carl Sagan said, that we have to know the past to understand the present.

Two of Cups

Upon initial examination of the Two of Cups it seems to be a love story, a story of partnership and equality that appears to be protected and embraced by a blessing from above. This inspires me to link the card to one of the greatest love stories ever told.

The Taj Mahal meaning ‘crown of palaces’ is a white marble mausoleum located in Agra, India. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal.

In 1631, Shah Jahan was grief-stricken when his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal, died during the birth of their 14th child. He so loved his wife that he built her the most beautiful tomb ever erected, to honour her even in death. The emperor’s grief illustrates the love story traditionally held as an inspiration for Taj Mahal. Mumtaz Mahal’s tomb is the central focus of the entire complex of the Taj Mahal. The principal mausoleum was completed in 1648 and the surrounding buildings and garden were finished five years later. Emperor Shah Jahan himself described the Taj in these words

Should guilty seek asylum here,


Like one pardoned, he becomes free from sin.


Should a sinner make his way to this mansion,


All his past sins are to be washed away.


The sight of this mansion creates sorrowing sighs;


And the sun and the moon shed tears from their eyes.


In this world this edifice has been made;


To display thereby the creator's glory.

A longstanding myth holds that Shah Jahan planned a mausoleum to be built in black marble across the Yamuna river. It was suggested that he was overthrown by his son before he could build it. Ruins of blackened marble across the river in Moonlight Garden seemed to support this legend. However, excavations carried out in the 1990s found that they were discolored white stones that had turned black.  A more credible theory for the origins of the black mausoleum was demonstrated in 2006 by archaeologists who reconstructed part of the pool in the Moonlight Garden. A dark reflection of the white mausoleum could clearly be seen, befitting Shah Jahan's obsession with symmetry and the positioning of the pool itself. This black pool and the reflection of the white Taj Mahal in it would have perfectly demonstrated the duality in this love story. The living and the dead, the light and the dark, the masculine and the feminine, the yin and the yang. The physical and the spiritual. One could almost be forgiven for relating this reflection of partnership back onto the card in which two large wings hover above the couple, as if blessing their union in this world and beyond. This echoes a verse in the Bible that says: What God has joined together, let no man put asunder.

Soon after the Taj Mahal's completion, Shah Jahan was disposed of by his son and put under house arrest at nearby Agra Fort. He spent the last 14 years of his life imprisoned there, but with a view of the Taj Mahal from his window. Upon his death he was buried in the mausoleum next to his wife. They were together again, even in death.

The Two of Cups. A card that tells us the story of perfect balance, equal partnership, and speaks of honour in relationships that can transcend even the physical. 

Seven of Cups

The first impression that this card evokes is one of ideas still up in the air, not yet manifest. It reminded me of a great figure in human history, Leonardo da Vinci.

Da Vinci was one of the greatest minds that ever lived. He delved into engineering, art, sculpture, medicine, alchemy and religion. Responsible for some of the best art ever produced, as well as many inventions that were way before their time.

To protect himself much of his work was in code because the church was too powerful and could not be challenged. He would no doubt have been treated as a heretic if the church knew what he was capable of.

Da Vinci had all these ideas, some say that he was born in the wrong century as the restrictions placed on him by the church as well as the lack of materials needed prohibited many of his ideas from being developed further. For example the glider that he invented, if the engine had already been invented by then he might have invented the first airplane. He was undoubtedly ahead of his time. It is a known fact that it was only much later, when mankind had invented more that we could use a lot of his ideas.

Da Vinci might not have been able to invent the airplane yet, but he did what he could, he painted the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper, amongst other.

The lesson that we can derive from this concept, inspired by the Seven of Cups tarot card is that we should all strive to become the Leonardo da Vinci instead of having many ideas but doing nothing with them, realizing that some of our ideas might not come to anything we should none-the-less work with the ones we can and do something with them so that others can benefit from the workable ideas that we do have. Perhaps we can’t invent the parachute when we don’t yet have the airplane, but we can paint the Mona Lisa because her smile will inspire generations to come…

So, if we have 10 ideas and 7 of these are unworkable or ahead of their time, we should focus on the 3 that we can do something with now. We should perfect or do something with the ones that we can instead of leaving them all up in the air.

In closing we hear the words of Nolan Bushnell who said:

Everyone who’s ever taken a shower has an idea. It’s the person who gets out of the shower, dries off and does something about it who makes a difference.

Eight of Cups

The art of knowing when to walk away, and the courage to take that step even at the risk of emotional pain or discomfort can be one of the most empowering experiences.

Siddhartha Gautama the founder of Buddhism, was a prince born into great wealth and luxury. He lived a sheltered life and was never exposed to the suffering of the world, a world he did not know. He was not aware of pain, suffering, poverty, sickness or depravity on any level.

At some point he desired to give up all he knew and owned in order to experience the world beyond his castle walls. For the first time in his life he saw suffering and was shocked at his discovery. However, this led to his spiritual awakening and he was able to become spiritually wealthy as a result. Such a profound effect did his act of walking away from his former life have that an entire religion – Buddhism – was founded on the principals of his spiritual awakening and awareness.

We often allow ourselves to remain trapped in a situation that no longer serves us, be it a toxic relationship, an unfulfilling job, or a less than perfect location. Letting go is seldom easy however unless we are willing to leave our comfort zones when we know that the current situation is not what we want, we cannot begin moving into the direction of attracting what we DO want.

It may be the subconscious belief that we do not really deserve fulfilment and complete happiness that keeps us trapped in negative or toxic situations. Or, perhaps we are not yet consciously aware that we attract ALL things to us, the so-called good and bad. Things do not just randomly happen to us. Everything that we manifest, without fail, is rooted in the choices we have made, whether consciously or subconsciously.

Many of us do not yet realize the extent of the power that we have over our lives. Most of us do not ‘remember’ or understand the value of the lessons of less desirable situations and elements that we have attracted and manifested into our lives. But, until we do, we probably will not understand that it is equally within our power to attract its opposite.

There are no good or bad situations from the point of view that even uncomfortable situations serve as contrast to demonstrate what it is that we don’t want to manifest in our lives. And often it is in the realization of what we don’t want that we gain clarity about what we do want to manifest instead. Every time we become uncomfortable about an aspect of our lives we project a desire to attract its opposite. When this desire becomes so strong that we can almost no longer bear the current dissatisfactory situation we are often ready to act upon it by letting go and allowing the process of attracting what we DO desire instead.

Letting go of old beliefs that no longer serve us, walking away from beliefs that have kept us trapped in the illusion that we are powerless to change those aspects of our lives that we no longer desire, takes courage. It is the path less travelled. It is also the path that always leads to greatness.

As we contemplate letting go of certain elements of our lives and taking a new direction on our life’s journey I will end today’s Tarotelic with an old Irish blessing to pave the way.

May the road rise to meet you,

May the wind be always at your back,

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

May the rains fall soft upon your fields,

And, until we meet again,

May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.

Three of Cups

This is a truly beautiful card, one that depicts 3 women dancing in a circle in a celebratory manner, each raising a toast to the sky.

The sky is bright and blue, no sign of clouds or rain. At their feet lie the fruit of their labour, an abundance of harvest.

In Norse mythology we find reference to the three creatures of time, they who determine fate. Called the Norns, they were known as Urd, Skuld and Verdandi, respectively the past, present and future. Before they came to Asgard time did not exist, therefore they were considered above even the gods, as fate could not be determined without time. The Norns would visit each being, humans as well as  gods immediately after they were born to determine their future.  Just like the Fates in Greek mythology, these three creatures determined how long every individual would live.  The Greek Fates were called Clotho (the spinner,) Lachesis (the drawer of Fates,) and Atropos (the inevitable.) Clotho would spin out the newborn’s thread of life, Lachesis measured it and decided what was going to happen to this being, and Atropos cut the thread. They were often depicted around a spinning wheel or a cauldron.

The past, the present and the future. Whom amongst us has not at times wished that we could go back into the past to change something, or that we could travel to the future to gain knowledge as yet unknown to us. It is usually as we mature that we realize we have no business in either the past or future, as all we have and are is in the present. The power of Now.

Why is it that Guru’s and psychologists say the same thing, namely the importance of living in the present? Could it be that they know something we are still learning? Living in the ‘now’ is called mindfulness. It is at the root of Buddhism, Taoism and yoga. Mindful people are happier people, they are more exuberant, more secure and more empathetic. The health benefits of living in a state of mindfulness includes reduced stress and blood pressure, it boosts the immune system and reduces chronic pain.

Everyone agrees that it is important to live in the moment, but how do we do this because when we are not in the moment we are not there to know we are not there… Overriding the distraction reflex and awakening to the present takes practice and intention. Living in the moment contains a profound paradox, we cannot live in the moment in anticipation of future benefits, because that launches us out of the moment and into the future, which subverts the entire process. It requires us to trust that the rewards will come.

As we live in the moment, the past and future slot into their rightful places and our perspective changes quite dramatically. No longer are we regretful or guilty for past mistakes, we acknowledge the value of these as they brought us to where we are now. We become more accepting of our own imperfections. James Thurber said: “Let us not look back in anger, not forward in fear, but around in awareness.”

Living in the moment has the added benefit therefore of helping us place a healthier perspective on the events of our lives, and in a sense helps us to ‘tie-up’ many loose ends that we may otherwise leave dangling to trip over.

The celebration that we see in the 3 of Cups could very well be ours as we bring into alignment our own past, present and futures. Trust is very much a ‘feeling’ thing, therefore the suit of Cups from which this card comes perfectly reflects to us that we are required to feel our way into mindfulness rather than through analysis and expectation. Our thoughts may come and go, thoughts of the past and future. A simple acknowledgement is all that is required as we maintain the state of mindfulness without allowing the distractions to derail our process.

In closing let’s contemplate the words of Jeb Dickerson who said: “I need neither future nor past, but to learn to take today not too fast.”

Five of Cups

A robed figure stands alone, his head is hanging low, and his shoulders bear the burden of loss. Before him lies a river, impassable except for a single distant bridge. The bridge leads to the other side on which we can see a castle and green trees & lawn. He however is isolated, surrounded only by 5 cups; 2 upright and 3 that have been knocked over, spilling their contents onto the barren earth he stands on.

This is a card of loss, sorrow and isolation. However, all is not lost, there are still 2 upright cups positioned behind the robed figure. Unfortunately he does not seem to notice them as his focus is directed on what he has lost – namely the 3 overturned cups. If only he would lift his head a little from the weight of his sorrow, he would notice the bridge to his right. Being positioned to the right of the traveller we know that it lies in his future, as opposed to the overturned cups that lay to his left and thus in his past.

The bridge shows that there is a way out of this pain and suffering. A way to overcome this sense of loss. It offers the robed figure a means by which he can reconnect with the other side, the side where the castle stands, strong and secure. But, in order to do this, he must lift his chin, leave his past behind him, turn to the future and cross the bridge.

In life we all have reason and opportunity to occasionally indulge in a bit of self pity, often  for a little longer than necessary. Like the robed figure on the 5 of Cups we too all to often focus only on what was lost on such occasions, and seldom on what might be gained. Yet, sometimes we can change the course of our own future histories, if only we’d consider what may be gained.

Rome had been divided amongst 3 leaders, Julius Caesar was one of them. Because Ceasar became very popular with the common people of Rome the other two became jealous of him.  They forced Ceasar into a situation where he had very few choices; he could continue to suffer humiliation and abuse at their hands thereby playing the victim, or he could do the unthinkable, he could cross the river that divided Gaul and Italy – called the Rubicon river with his soldiers to confront his enemies. He knew that once he and his men had crossed the river, history would be forever changed, it was an act that could not have been anticipated or undone. This was not a decision that Caesar made lightly. Caesar understood that a critical decision confronted him as he looked out over the river Rubicon, which formed the frontier between Gaul and Italy. He turned to his soldiers remarking “we may still draw back, but once across that little bridge, we shall have to fight it out.” Caesar and his men saw an apparition that snatched a trumpet from one of his trumpeters, ran down to the river, blew a thunderous blast, and crossed over.  Caesar exclaimed: “Let us accept this as a sign from the Gods, and follow where they beckon, in vengeance on our double-dealing enemies. The die is cast”’

To get back to the 5 of Cups card, perhaps the gifts of the upright cups that stand unnoticed behind the figure on the card contain the courage and faith needed to take that step away from self-pity & victimhood.

We all have – within us – the ability to cross the proverbial Rubicon, we have within us the ‘better army’ capable of facing and conquering our enemies  namely self-pity and doubt. We simply need to lift our eyes when drowning in loss and sorrow, and turn our attention to the future rather than the past. We need to pluck up the courage to do as Caesar did and face what – at the time feels like – the impossible. Making a life-changing decision and creating a better future for ourselves…

Queen of Cups

She sits upon a throne, noble and confident. Her throne is adorned with mermaids and shells, creatures of the sea. In her hands she carefully holds the cup of visions into which she stares. She is the queen of visions, the queen of intuition. She can foretell the future, and she can understand the language of intuition.

As she is queen, and sits upon a throne it is clear that she is an adept, not a novice. She is in command of her gifts, and uses them wisely. When she appears to us, we are gently guided by her to get in touch with our own intuition, to embark upon our own vision quest, and to seek the answers from within.

It is believed by some that upon his crucifixion, the pregnant  wife of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, escaped persecution by travelling across the oceans to the shores of France, where she became known as Mary of the Sea. She carried with her not only the bloodline of Jesus, but many mysteries that became the vision on which the foundation of several secret societies was based.

Also, the legendary tale of the Holy Grail comes to mind, a cup   possessing miraculous powers, which according to old Christian lore was the  vessel that caught the blood of Christ during his internment. But as the legend of the Holy Grail shows, it is only the spiritually enlightened that eventually discovers that the Grail is not the elusive object  that many a king sent subjects out to find in vain, it is in fact closer than imagined. It is the reward of intuition and wisdom within, that has been with mankind from the beginning.

For many cultures the sea brings in knowledge, whether it be through new inventions or foreign invasions. Our queen of Cups is sitting on the beach, intently staring at the cup of visions, maybe the Holy Grail, in her hands which enables her to attain knowledge of the future.  

When this card appears we might be gently guided to listen to our own intuition, to honour our own visions and dreams, the subtle hints of knowledge that lie deep within.

We might ask how do we honour our dreams? One sure way to do this is to keep a dream journal and to record our dreams upon waking, for they will soon fade and disappear into obscurity, forever gone. However, if we record these important visions born of our dream world, we may decipher and discover the knowledge that they carry to us, through the deep and unknown oceans of sleep.

Like the Queen of Cups, if we honour the wisdom of our intuition we too will eventually become adept at understanding the symbolic language of visions. We too will be able to seek the council of our intuition, and perhaps in time will develop intuition based wisdom that will reaffirm our connection to Source. We all have within us the power of insight, the power of intuition and the ability to see visions.  By developing the ability to listen to our intuition we are all divinely guided into the future.

If we take only a moment each morning to tune into our intuition, almost as-if holding a sea-shell to our ear and listening to the sounds of the ocean, we may find that we are a lot more in tune with the ebb and flow of our daily lives. We may find that life holds less unexpected surprises and more subtle hints that steer us along our path to enlightenment and self awareness.

Page of Cups

In the Rider Waite Smith deck, a youthful figure is holding a cup in his hand, from which a salmon fish emerges. The youth is wearing a blue hat with veil, the veil is cast aside indicating that he can see the object of his inspiration with clarity.

How does the salmon peering from this cup inspire us? According to old Celtic lore, salmon is a sign of sacred wells and healing waters, and its presence symbolized foreknowledge of events. As-if to confirm that we are dealing with emotive and intuitive issues that will not go away by merely ignoring them, we see in the imagery these very waters on the horizon swelling-up, reminding us that we do need to deal with our issues. Issues that reside in the vast world of emotions and/or intuition.

If we examine the behaviour of the salmon, we find that we would be hard-pressed to find one more determined to overcome adversities and obstacles. Salmon swims upstream, against the very flow, for approximately 1500 miles, leaping over rapids and through waterfalls in this epic pilgrimage he makes to re-unite himself once again with the sweetly familiar waters of his birth. It is a difficult and treacherous journey, yet this does not discourage salmon or dissuade him from embarking on it.

Totem Salmon Art - Animal line drawing by Thailan When

Therefore, when this card appears for us, as it has done today, it might be prudent for us to take a closer look at what our emotions and intuition are trying to tell us. Is there a difficult journey ahead, perhaps one we have been avoiding to take? Daunting as it seems, we need to remember that a journey of a thousand miles begins with one single step in the right direction. What emotional pilgrimage do we need to undertake that will once again reunite us with the sweet healing waters of our origin, our truth? What healing needs to take place on an emotional level? Are we afraid to embark on this journey in pursuit of healing because we fear the obstacles along the way?

This card reminds us that we have what it takes to make this pilgrimage, to pursue emotional well-being and balance. It gives us permission to acknowledge that there may be a need for an emotional cleansing and purification, and that what at first appears to be a daunting task is in fact attainable, and may very well be viewed as an adventure of rediscovery of our emotional authenticity. More than attainable, this journey becomes necessary for us to plunge into the emotional rapids, and to face the potential obstacles that may present themselves, if we wish to be emotionally prosperous. For, salmon makes this epic journey in order to ensure his immortality. The waters of his birth calls him into their sweet and comforting folds where he procreates so that his offspring too may be born in the sweet waters of their home-coming, their origin, their authenticity, where the cycle once again repeats itself as the young salmon leave their birthing waters to which they too shall return upon maturity. But, in order to do so they too will embark upon a pilgrimage – as their parents did – in order to continue the cycle.

How does this all apply to us and to our self-development and growth you might ask? Here is what I think this card suggests to us. We need to remember our emotional authenticity.  Go back to what it is that needs emotional healing within us.  We need to revisit the origin of our emotional ills where we will manifest healing. Embarking upon what may appear to be a daunting journey to make our way back, so that we may recapitulate until we reach the point of our dis-ease, so that we may pour healing waters upon it. That moment or event in which our pain and emotional discomfort was born. We may find that the journey in itself is cathartic enough to reawaken our memory of perfection, and in doing so we may discover that the purpose of pain is to encourage us to take this epic journey in which we reassemble ourselves, reminding us that everything is and always has in fact been perfect, exactly as it is.

Ten of Cups

Ten of Cups speaks to us of emotional abundance, a coming of age as-it-were on an emotional level, or emotions having come full circle. What was previously one cup (the Ace of Cups) has now become a family of cups. Potential has thus fully manifested.

The card illustrates a beautiful rainbow. In itself an important symbol.  Andrew Lloyd Webber brought to life the biblical character Joseph and his amazing technicoloured dream-coat. A coat that represented a rainbow of colours.  The narrator in Lloyd-Webber’s production is telling a story, sometimes to children, encouraging them to dream. She then tells the story of Joseph, another dreamer, encouraging him to dream with the song ‘any dream will do.’

Rainbows and dreams can both be seen as stairways to the proverbial heavens. In Norse mythology Heimdall, the god of light, was the guardian of the rainbow bridge that led to the realms of the gods. And surely it is here, in these godly realms, where we can be assured that our dreams come true?

Heimdall guarding the rainbow bridge.

Ten of cups reminds us that we can indeed manifest our dreams, and that we do indeed possess the power of the gods to do this.  Notice how one cup has manifested into a family of cups on this card, and how community and family seem to be the central and dominant focus of the card. This card serves to remind us that this is indeed the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. That it is safe and good to dream and to continue dreaming our desires into manifestation.  The emotion that is emitted from this card is that of joy and accomplishment. It is a time to examine and congratulate ourselves on what we have achieved. Yes, we have achieved much,  but perhaps we forget how far we really have come? Well, now is the time to stand back, and for a moment allow ourselves to relish the satisfaction of our achievements. Recognize the rewards that we have manifested in our lives as a result of allowing ourselves to dream a better dream, a better reality.  Yes, I am speaking directly to you, even you who may think that you still have such a long way to go before you can stand back to examine your achievements. Take stock for a moment of how far you have already come, since you first recognized the stirrings of power that resides within you. The power to make dreams come true. Your dreams.

I dreamed the sky and the earth were dreaming about their love -  Walter Logeman
http://www.thousandsketches.com/blog/?p=1103

So, we may ask ourselves what are we dreaming today? What dreams do we give our attention to today that will tomorrow be manifest? Perhaps this is what the card is nudging us to examine, and re-examine. Are we dreaming the reality that we want to manifest tomorrow? Or are we dreaming the reality that we don’t want? We have the power to do both, either or…

The sense of community that this card brings us is also a reminder to us that when we work to bring something to full manifestation, the effects of these spill over and impacts on more than just ourselves alone. We are thereby reminded that we are all interconnected, so that what we manifest will touch and affect others. In the case of this card, it is joy that touches the lives of those around us, as a direct result of our manifestations that have fully matured and materialized.

Therefore, we learn today that it is okay to dream. More than okay, it is encouraged. For conscious creation must surely be better than unconscious creation? Where our attention should lie in the dreaming process is clarity on what it is that we are dreaming into realization, because it will manifest and when it does it will spill over to touch the lives of others too.

Ace of Cups

The Ace of Cups show us that potential is in abundance, but how this will formulate and manifest itself is still unknown.

In this card we are confronted with the element of water. This however is a card that illustrates the element of water in its primordial form. Emotions & intuition in their primitive form.  Water as the emblem of the unconscious. In Christianity, the Spirit of God moves over the impenetrable depths of the waters, before creating life.

In their book “Personal Development with the Tarot” by Catherine Summers and Julian Vayne, the following observations are made:

The chalice represents the womb from which all creation is born. Yet, in the act of creation, the power of water has yet to be reacted upon by outside forces. Historically cups are associated with the church and love. Cups receive the impulse and respond to it. Cups represents love, relationships and imagination. Cups can open you to your inner feelings and the connections you have with others. Choices on this level seem intuitive.

As an image of the unconscious, this card shows the need for evolution of consciousness. For, this process is necessary in order for individuation to occur. The Ace of Cups demonstrates that the unconscious must interact with the conscious mind before it can create.

This card shows a period in which great potential exists, but no direction or fertilization is yet apparent. If the seeds of wisdom sown are the sound seeds of personal discovery, then the harvest will be rewarding and fulfilling.

Imagery in this card includes an equal-armed cross, suspended above a large golden cup. In their book “The Secret Language of Tarot,” my tarot mentors Ruth Ann & Wald Amberstone describe the cross as a symbol of distilled human consciousness, being a symbol that is born of the human mind rather than directly from nature.

They continue to say that crossroads are places where all important decisions are made! Cross-examinations reveal hidden personal truths and motives.  Strangers become friends when their paths cross. Crossing the ocean is as far as one can physically travel. And crossing swords is a joining in battle.  Double crossing is the essence of treachery.

When the cross is tilted it becomes an X. An X in a ballot signifies a choice that has to be made. An X on a signature line is the universal sign of human identity. And X marks the spot on every map of buried treasure!

 

The cross is the symbol of all that changes and all that remains the same.  It is the relationship between the stable state of things, represented by the horizontal line, and the dynamic state of things as they might become, represented by the vertical. It is the symbol of the creative potential of absolute difference.

In an equal-armed cross stability is suggested as all arms have equal length – thus significance. It is the sum total of all there is, and it’s a universal symbol of serenity.

The cross reveals dimensions, offers fresh perspectives, and opens a whole new possibility for creativity, personal refinement and spiritual elevation.

Most important about the equal-armed cross is that each of the four arms are equal. North is as good as south, winter as good as spring, old-age serves as great a purpose as childhood. Pain and pleasure, fullness and emptiness, even life and death are equal. A hard lesson to learn, but it’s the one that brings serenity and balance into our lives.

 In closing we might ask ourselves what potential lies dormant within that is ready to emerge? How can we uncover our creative potential and thereby manifest serenity and balance in our lives? What aspects of our lives are in need of equality? Do we acknowledge the lessons of our pain as we revere the joys of our pleasure?